With Doflamingo finally quieting down these past few days, Shamrock, the newly appointed leader of the God's Knights, could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
He decisively convened the second official meeting since Doflamingo's induction as Vice-leader.
The reason for this second meeting was simple: during the first one, Doflamingo had been utterly uncooperative.
Not only had he vented his frustration over failing to fully punish Donquixote Garisson and his son onto the attending God's Knights members, but he had also nearly come to blows with Shamrock on the spot.
Fortunately, Imu had intervened in time via Den Den Mushi, not only restoring Doflamingo's status as a Celestial Dragon but also permitting him to bring his family executives to the Holy Land as official members of the Donquixote Celestial Dragon lineage.
Seated firmly in the leader's chair, Shamrock swept his gaze over the assembled knights before shifting his attention to Doflamingo.
Doflamingo hadn't taken his seat as Vice-leader.
Instead, he lounged casually on the right side with Diamante and another top executive of his families, Trebol, engaged in conversation as if no one else were present.
"Doflamingo?"
Seeing that Doflamingo had brought family members to the meeting, Shamrock's brows furrowed into a deep crease.
"This is a God's Knights meeting. Would you kindly ask those two to step outside temporarily?"
"And why should they?"
Doflamingo leaned forward across the table, grinning up at Shamrock.
"They're now members of the God's Knights too—my subordinates as Vice-leader! Don't tell me that as Vice-leader of the God's Knights, I don't even have the authority to recruit two subordinates!"
"You absolutely don't!" Shamrock's retort was merciless.
"Every God's Knights member must receive Imu-sama personal approval. However, given that Fleet Admiral Orion personally appointed you, I'll let it slide—just this once."
Before Doflamingo could counter, Shamrock briskly rapped the table, raising his voice.
"Now that everyone is present, I declare this meeting officially begun. Until I've finished presenting today's agenda, I expect complete silence!"
No sooner had Shamrock spoken than the tightly shut conference doors swung open.
It was Gunko with her signature newsboy cap perched atop her head.
Her unexpected appearance left Shamrock momentarily stunned.
"Gunko? When did you return to the Holy Land?"
"I just arrived." Gunko walked to the only empty seat at the conference table and sat down, then explained.
"Fleet Admiral Orion had to stop by my place to move some things, which caused a slight delay."
"Fleet Admiral Orion went to your house to move things?" Shamrock looked slightly stunned.
"What could you possibly have at home that Fleet Admiral Orion would want? Records? Musician slaves?"
Gunko didn't hide anything and answered bluntly, "Fleet Admiral Orion plans to recruit soldiers worldwide and expand the military by six hundred thousand. The required funds are enormous. I wanted to share some of the burden, so I gave Fleet Admiral Orion all my savings from these years."
"All of it?" Shamrock's lips twitched slightly.
Was this a dowry or something?
Meanwhile, Doflamingo didn't hesitate to give Gunko a thumbs-up.
"Even Gunko understands the bigger picture. Naturally, the Donquixote Family can't let the Fleet Admiral worry about funding either. Diamante, contact Pica immediately and have all the Donquixote Family's assets handed over to Marine Headquarters."
"Our family assets were already confiscated," Diamante whispered with a grimace. "To be precise, they were seized when Admiral Sakazuki entered Dressrosa!"
Doflamingo glared at Diamante.
"I meant the Holy Land Donquixotes!"
"Oh, oh!" Diamante suddenly understood and stood up. "I'll go make the call right away."
As soon as Diamante left, Doflamingo immediately stood up, placing one foot on his chair as he swiftly scanned the attendees.
Seizing the moment, he pressed on, "I think all members of the God's Knights should contribute. Most of those present are Celestial Dragons, so money shouldn't be an issue. Here's what I propose—on behalf of the Fleet Admiral, I'll handle this matter. Every Celestial Dragon here should contribute ten billion to support the Marine recruitment drive. For those who are only God's Knights members and not Celestial Dragons, we'll halve it—five billion each!"
"Doflamingo!!!"
Shamrock could no longer contain himself when Doflamingo tried to extort the God's Knights.
He stood up and said sternly, "Are you trying to derail this meeting? This conference was convened by order of Imu-sama and has Fleet Admiral Orion's full support. If you keep causing trouble, I'll have no choice but to summon Fleet Admiral Orion!"
"Fufufufu," Doflamingo grinned at Shamrock. "Fleet Admiral Orion is swamped with work yet still supports the God's Knights. Isn't it only natural for us to contribute to the Marine's expansion? More importantly, as the eldest son of the Figarland Family, getting worked up over a mere ten billion? How petty, Shamrock!"
"You—"
Shamrock took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to draw his sword and cut Doflamingo down.
Through gritted teeth, he said, "Ten billion is out of the question, but I can offer two billion!"
Before Doflamingo could respond, Shamrock's expression darkened as he met Doflamingo's gaze, clearly worried he might push further.
"Don't push your luck. That's my final offer!"
Doflamingo didn't speak, locking eyes with him for several tense seconds before finally looking away.
Then, he gave Shamrock a thumbs-up. "Generous!"
Before Shamrock could react, Doflamingo, knowing when to quit, quickly shifted his gaze to the other God's Knights present.
"Gentlemen, since our leader has already been so generous, shouldn't you all show some sincerity too? Two billion from the leader and ten billion Belly each from you—doesn't that sound reasonable...?"
"No problem!"
Before Doflamingo could finish speaking, Shamrock, who was on the verge of exploding, decisively cut in.
"I'll answer for them. Can we start the meeting now?"
"Fufufufu," Doflamingo chuckled and nodded. "Let's get it over with. Once we're done, I'll go collect the money—the Fleet Admiral is in a hurry!"
With that, Doflamingo returned to his seat and, mimicking Orion, patted Trebol's shoulder beside him.
Trebol looked utterly bewildered, clearly stunned that Doflamingo had just secured tens of billions of Belly with mere words.
But none of that mattered.
What truly mattered was that Trebol, once one of the highest-ranking executives of the Donquixote Family, realized their young master had changed!
Though Doflamingo remained as wicked as ever, there was now an eerie sense of righteousness to his villainy—an illusion that unsettled Trebol.
Once it was clear Doflamingo wouldn't cause further trouble, Shamrock rubbed his throbbing temples and got straight to the point.
"Let's begin."
"The agenda is ..... the Elbaf Plan."
Pausing briefly, Shamrock picked up the documents in front of him and continued, "The Giant Kingdom of Elbaf is an undeniable force. If they cannot be utilized by the World Government, their existence becomes one of its greatest threats. Therefore—"
"Hmm?"
Before he could delve into the main topic—or even properly introduce it—Shamrock's brow furrowed again.
He turned sharply toward Doflamingo, his killing intent flaring abruptly, enveloping the man mid-conversation with Trebol.
"Heavenly Yaksha, what is it now?"
"Did I say anything?"
Having just instructed Trebol to collect money from every God's Knight member after the meeting, Doflamingo tilted his head and met Shamrock's glare.
After a brief pause, he feigned realization.
"Ah, right!"
"I said, 'Brilliant insight, Commander.'"
"Fufufufu…"
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